I was going to put this in "Humor"...but Gerlyne didn't, put hers there, so......
In a recent article, titled "Witch! Witch! Witch!", an article ‘which’ has since mysteriously disappeared (otherwise I would happily have linked you there), an erstwhile blogger made "coded" references to the effect that SoS Condi Rice was, perhaps, being…..well…..less ‘black’ than those of her race would like and/or expect of her; perhaps not doing enough for blacks in America and in the world at large(at least, that's how I took it).
As if simply being a black woman with the title "United States Secretary of State" before her name, in itself, and opening all the implied doors for blacks as a people, isn’t enough.
The article was no doubt retracted when the thin-skinned author, faced with the stark realization that some people here on JU may actually disagree with her and could back up their opinions with facts and solid arguments, reacted in her usual, easily-cowed fashion---by shutting up and running. By disappearing without even a modest attempt at a debate.
I'm sorry if that's cruel, but I've seen her do it too many times to care. If you have something to say, Gerlyne, and feel strongly enough about it to take the time to sit and write it down, at least take some initiative to defend it against opponents. If you're not gonna play the game, sweetheart, please stay on the bench, where you won't get hurt.
Now, on to my own article.....
Condi Rice, it would seem, is not black enough. Why is this? Let’s examine……
1. She was not born in the ghe-tto to a crack-addicted, single Welfare mother and a useless, absentee Pee-yomp of a father.
Instead, She was birthed to two decent, loving, hard-working Christian parents (her father was a Presbyterian minister, who later took a highly-placed administrative position at the Univ. of Denver. He was also a vocal protester of the Vietnam War) who loved their daughter and wanted to protect her and give her the best in life, so she could succeed and perhaps make something of herself in the future, which she has.
~~~As a child, she was largely sheltered from the injustices of Birmingham's discriminatory laws and attitudes. She was instructed to walk proudly in public and to use the facilities at home rather than subject herself to the indignity of "colored" facilities in town. As Rice recalls of her parents and their peers, "they refused to allow the limits and injustices of their time to limit our horizons."~~~---From Wikipedia
How could she ever truly understand the Black Experience, coming from such a strong, solid, functional, tragically sheltered background? She couldn't possibly........!
2. She is well-educated. Wikipedia states:
~~~"Rice attended a course on international politics taught by Josef Korbel, the father of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. This experience sparked her interest in the Soviet Union and international relations and made her call Korbel "one of the most central figures in my life." " and "Rice graduated from St. Mary's Academy in the class of 1970. In 1974, at age 19, Rice earned her B.A. in political science and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Denver. In 1975, she obtained her Master's Degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame."~~~
Speaking with proper grammar and diction, she seems to willingly disdain the use of pidgin-English Ebonics and hip-hop ghettospeak.
She says things like "Hello there, how nice it is to see you", rather than "Yo, Niggah!" or "What up, Homegirl?" or even "Fa Shizzle my Nizzle".
She says "May I ask you a question?" rather than "Cain ah axe ya’ll a kwesst-shun?"
She says "Could I borrow fifty cents?" rather than "Yo, cain ah barra fiddy cent, dawg?"
How can such a woman possibly communicate with and understand others of her race and culture, with such a limited education and vocabulary? But then, being such a lackey to Whitey, why would she ever need to talk to people of her own race, anyway? Shocking, shocking……is this horribly inadequate representative of their race someone blacks should be proud of? I think not!
3. She has the president’s ear, yet she’s not playing the African-American Grima Wormtongue to Bush’s King Theoden of Rohan. She’s sticking to her job and it’s description, rather than lobbying for liberal causes and to give black Americans the keys to the kingdom (as if they don’t already have them). She supports the Second Amendment, for example, because (Again, from wikipedia):
~~~"Segregation also hardened her stance on the right to bear arms; Rice has said in interviews that if gun registration had been mandatory, her father's weapons would have been confiscated, leaving them defenseless against Ku Klux Klan nightriders."~~~ Traitor.
Look, Condoleeza Rice is the first black Secretary of State we’ve ever had…well, okay….we had that Powell guy. But come on….he’s so light-skinned! And well-spoken! And he’s a moderate conservative! Come on! Can we REALLY call him black?
But then, for example, on the other hand, we have the undeniably talented and beautiful Mariah Carey, who, complexion-wise, is about as black as I am. And yet, the black community throws statues and awards at her, for being black, like a drunk throws dollar bills at a stripper.
Mariah has won many awards, mostly realting to popular music, of course, but she also, for example, holds the the NAACP Image award. Why? Becaue she's black. And famous.
Mariah, a goddess though she may be, dresses like a Hooch, makes the right kind of music, and mouths the right kinds of platitudes about her oh-so-apparent black heritage and culture. So, she gets the award. How many such significant awards and plaudits, overall, have blacks tossed Colin Powell’s way? The only two non-military/politically-related awards I could come up with in a search were:
~~~In 2005 Powell received the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his contributions to Africa.~~~ and ~~~"Powell is a recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America."~~~ Both from Wikipedia.
I guess, despite his integrity and personal success, he's not black enough for the NAACP. Sorry Colin, you don't fit the bill.
I’ve often said that if Mariah had made her mark, say, as a regular on the Grand Ole Opry and CMT rather than MTV and BET, black America would never have heard of her, black ancestors or not. How many blacks today remember Charley Pride, I wonder?
I guess, if you’re black and on the Right side of the aisle, you’re seen as kind of a traitor.
A black woman I work with, Denise, we’ll call her, is a rabid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lynn Swann, a Steeler from the great old heydays of the 1970s, and a black man, is running for governor of Pennsylvania. As a Republican. Debbie is sorely disappointed in him, and sees him as a traitor to his heritage.
Look at Thomas Sowell and Clarence Thomas….both black. The first is a successful journalist, author and columnist, the other a Supreme Court Justice.
Both conservative, hard-working, successful professionals who oppose liberalism and want and expect people (including blacks) to take responsibility and to be motivated for themselves and their families.
What do they have in common?
THEY’RE BOTH TOMS! And, though I don’t know for sure, I’d be willing to bet that they’re UNCLES, too! FOR SHAME!
Nah…Condi’s just not black enough to do the job correctly.
Maybe Snopp Dogg would make a good Sec of State? How about Danny "I'm gettin' too old for this shit" Glover or Harry "Daaaa-yyyo!" Belafonte? They'd surely do right by the black man!
Too bad Secretary of State isn't an elected position......